Feed-water control and alarm for steam boilers



A. G. BLOSS Jan. 21, 194 7.

FEED WATER CONTROL AND ALARM FOR STEAMBOILERS Filed July 8, 1943 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

M A 7' 70/? NE) Jan 21, 194:7. 2,414,629

FEED WATER CCNTROL AND ALARM FOR STEAM BOILERS A. G. BLOSS Filed July 8,1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Arron/var Patented 'Jan. 21, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE FEED-WATERCONTROL FOR s'rnAM BOILERS Albert G. 31055, Kenova, W. Va.

Application July'8, 1943, Serial'No; 4913;884

3 Glaims.

This invention relatesto the automatic controller feed water pumps ofsteam boilers, for keeping such boilers adequately supplied with Waterat all times, together with automatic means for actuating suitable alarmsignals incase the water falls to dangerous low levels. In addition tothe automatic-'controlofthe feedwater pump and operation of alarmsignals, this apparatus ofi'ers the advantage of being adjustable withinfixed" limits' for varying the water level in the boiler to meet thevarious requirements of different territories or jurisdictions.

One principal object of the invention is to provide; incombination withthe steam boiler and the feed water pump thereof, automatic means forcontrolling the pump, and alarm signal devices for indicating low ordangerous water' levels in the boiler. I

Another object is toprovid e in combination with a steam boiler and thefeed water pump thereof, a- Water' bottle mounted thereon and connectedtherewith; for indicating the water level the'boiler; the said bottlebeing verticallyadjustable relative to the boiler in order to adapt theapparatusto conform to the laws of diiferent jurisdictions relative tothe required water levels of steam boilers, and especially as relatingto the" operation of'locomc'tives in dii ferent territories or ondifferent roads, and means operable through the lowering and raising ofthe water level in the boiler and water bottle for respectivelyoperating the feed water pump or stopping same, together with similarlyoperated means for actuating visual and audible alarm signals'upon thedangerous lowering of water in the boiler;

Another object of the invention is to provide in combination with asteam boiler, the feed water pump connected therewith, the steam linerunnin'gfrom the boilertothe pump for operati ng'thesame, and steamoperable alarm signals for'indi'cating' dangerous lowwater levels in theboiler, steam operable means-for controlling the flow of steam throughthe steam line running to thewaterpump, a water bottle connected withthe'boiler for indicating the water level therein, the bottle beingadjustable vertically between twofixed or adjustable stops, for adaptingthe apparatus to the jurisdictional requirements of difierentlocalitiesor territories, steam pipes leading from the boiler into the upper endof the water. bottle; separatesteam pipes leading from the upperend ofthe water bottle to the steam 2. water pump, valves in. the upper: endof: the waterbottle for admitting steam tothe pipes running to thealarm. signals and to: the means for controlling: the flow of steam tothe water pump,

and means dependent on the water levels: in

thellwateinbottle for operating the said valves therein, whereby the;feed water pump will be automatically operated to pump water. into theboiler" to replenish. same, or; will be: automatically stopped when theboiler issoi replenished, and,

whereby the: said alarm signals :will. be automatically operated whenthe water becomes dangerou'siy low. in the boiler;

With; the. ioregoing. objects: and advantages in View; together withsuch further objects and ad.-

vantages as may? appear the following; specification, attention isdirected to the accompanying. drawings as embodying; preferredembodiments'of my invention;v and wherein:

Figure: 1* is alongitudinal. vertical. section on a relatively large:scale, of. one: of the essential. elements of the invention, same, beinga steam housing and: valve mechanism, tor incorporation- ,in the:steam:- line' running from the boiler to the portion of a locomotive;boiler and. forward portioniof the; attached? engine cab,.. andshowingthe complete apparatus constituting: this invention,

as mountedthereondn coi-operative relations Figure 31s: a verticalsectional view on a scale relatively" larger than that of: Figure 2,. ofthe waterrboiitle or water level control; constituting anotherr veryessential element of: the: invention, as'the same appears-mounted on thecab end of a; locomotive boiler, the system" of steam pipesas'lconn'ec'ted with: thebottlea and portions thereof immediately adjacentthereto, and certain other elements,.. being. shown. in full lines.

4 is? a, rear" elevation on: the scale of Figured; of. thewat'er bottleor water level control',.por tions.,b'eing broken out to show thearrangement of the interior elements.

Figure. 5? is-a' vertical section on the line5-5 of Figure lr showingtheencl'osed mechanism for operating the signa-l ,deviceslandieed waterpump.

Figure 6 is a detail? on an enlarged scale of;

the. upper end ofzthewaterfbottle or water level control,including'tliei steam chest and therotary valve and connections for:controlling the flow of steam through the s'i'gn'al operating pipes andthrough the pipes supplying: steam to the feed water P111111 9 from theturret 6a, and whereby water is pumped through the feed; water pipe Illinto the boiler. Manually operated valves ll, 12 are incorporated in thesteam line or pipes 9, with their stems and hand wheels Ha, l2a,extended into the cab 1, within easy reach of the engineer or fireman.

The structures as so far described are substantially conventional.

In practising my invention, and by means of the pipe couplings 53, Iincorporate in the conventional steam line 9, a by-pass steam line l4,and which includes a steam valve housing referred to generally at 15,enclosing certain essential elements of the invention, as fully shown inFigure 1, and which will now be described. The housing :5 comprises therelatively large lower pipe joint 65a, formed interiorly with thehorizontally disposed circular valve seat I511. The upper portion ofthis housing comprises a cylindrical valve chamber l5c, closed at itslower end except for the central valve stem aperture l5d, reinforcedaround its margins by the upwardly extended and integrally formed sleevel5e. The lower end of this cylindrical chamber l5c is exteriorlythreaded to engage, as shown at [5 the interiorly threaded margin of thecircular opening I59 formed in the upper side of the joint l5aconcentrically with the valve: seat i573. Thus, the valve seat I51) andsleeve l5e are positioned concentrically in vertical alignment.

The cylindrical chamber [50 is closed at its upper end by a circular capl5h,iwhich'is threadedly seated onto the chamber 150 as shown at l5k.The cap l5his centrally bored and tapped as at i5l for engaging thecomplementally threaded plug i5m, which in turn. is centrally boredthrough and tapped, as at I5n,-to receive a small steam pipe later to'bedescribed. The cap l5h is formed laterally with a small duct l5p whichwidens into an interiorly threaded socket l5q adapted to threadedlyreceive a valve plug I51 formed with a duct I58 adapted to align withthe duct I51) of the cap l5h when the plug I51 is screwed into'thesocket l5q. The duct His is taperingly expanded at its outer end, as atl5t, and is threaded interiorly at its mouth for engaging accmple'mentally threaded needle valve I50, for regulating the flow ofsteam fromthe chamber. l5c, for a purpose later to be explained. A blowpipe l5w is extended laterally from the tapered outer portion I51 of theneedle valve duct for blowing off steam condensations. A disk valve i5is fitted to the seat I52; and is mounted upon the lower end of a valvestem 16a, dimensioned to nicely fit and freely slide through the sleeve[5e within the chamber I50. A piston I1 is similarly nicely and freelyfitted into the cylindrical chamber 15c, and is centrally apertured topass the reduced upper'end of the valve stem lBa, these elements beingthen locked together by means of lock nuts is turned upon the upperthreaded extremity of the stem l6a, threaded at lBb for that purpose. Acoil spring I9 embraces the sleeve E5e and valve stem 16a, and beingbraced at its i 4 joint |5a for the passage of steam. However it isobvious that steam pressure may be employed at the upper side of thepiston IT, in the manner and for the purpose later to be described, forforcing this piston and the valve downward upon the valve seat, thuscutting off the flow of steam through the pipe joint I5a, as required inthe operation of the invention.

Within the cab l and upon the rear end of the boiler 6' is verticallymounted an elongated supporting bracket 25, which is clamped and boltedto the boiler by means of lugs 2 I, 22, secured to the boiler end invertically spaced relation, with bolts 23 passed through these lugs andthrough the ends of the bracket 20, the upper lug 22 being slotted as at22a to permit of the vertical adjustment of thebracket. The ends of thebracket 20 are turned perpendicularly outward, as at 20a,

25b, and slip-joint socket members 24, 25, are

bolted as at 26 to these out-turned ends in exact vented by means ofpacking (not shown) placed in the expanded mouths of the sockets, afterwhich the nuts 3| are screwedinto the interiorly threaded mouths of thesockets, as shown in Figure 3. The outer ends of the socket members 24,25, are bored and tapped to receive the, threaded ends of the water andsteam pipes 32, 33, pro?- vided with the valves 34, 35, for controllingthe flow of water and steam therethroug h. Thewater pipe 32 extends toand is connected with the boiler 5, at the low water line or dangerpoint.

thereof, this connection being madein conven tional manner and not shownin the drawings.

Thus'the water level in the boiler 6 at any time is faithfullyreproduced and shown in the water bottle 21, the bottle being properlylocated for that purpose. The steam pipe 33 is extendedto and;

operatively connected with the steam turretta of the boiler. inconventional manner. .To facilitate comparison of levels as between theboiler and Water bottle, water glasses 36, 31 are mounted on,

the bottle 2'! and on the boiler 5 respectively, conventional manner. sV For the purpose of adjustab-ly raising or lowering the bottle 21 tomeet varying conditions and requirements, a worm shaft 38 is journalledat its lower end vertically through the out-turned lower end Zea of thebracket 20, where it is held by means of a stop ring 38a anchored tothis shaft immediately above the end 211a of the' brack'et,

and the upper endof this shaft is then journalled in a lug 3i; anchoredupwardly on the bracketfm'r The worm shaft is passed through ascrewlug40 anchored medially to the bottle 21 and adaptedto;

mesh with the worm of the shaft. A wheel handle 38b is anchored to thelower extended en d of ,the

shaft38. Thus the shaft may be rotated toright or left for raising orlowering the bottle 2-1. .Stop lugs HJEZ, are mounted on the bracket 20invertically spaced alignment for limiting the upward or downwardmovement of the water bottle 21, between these stops. Avalved drain andblow-out;

pipe 28a is screwed into the lower bottle cap 28, for the, purpose ofblowing same out and for test,- ing the operation of the apparatus.

The bottle 21 is formed with a steam providedQthe 21a at its upper end,or which maybe incorporated with the cap .723 at that end, and whereinis mounted a. rotary valve is on a shaft 43a journalled in the chest.The valve is is formed with oppositely disposed and spaced steam ports43?), 43c, adapted to closely and alternately align or register with theports El -b, 210 respectively of the steam chest am. A crank arm M isrigidly connected at one end with the shaft 43a and is extendedhorizontally, medially into the upper end of the bottle 21. A float 45is mounted medially on a'guide rod fiila which is slidably passedthrough vertically spaced cross-ribs 66 anchored at their endstransversely in the bottle 2'1. A connecting rod or stem set isadjustably joined by means of the adjustment nut 450 to the upper end ofthe guide rod 511. The stem 45b is passed slidably through a narrowslot-Ma formed in the crank arm at, and stops std, 45c, mounted on thestem serve to limit the upward and downward movement of the stem as theystrike the arm at either side under the movement of the float '15.Additional adjustment stops Ill, d3, may be mounted on the inner wallsof the steam chest 21a, in vertical alignment above and below the crankarm M, for limiting the vertical movement of this arm. A lubricatingpipe 21d may be screwed into the top side of the steam chest 21a forlubricating the mechanism of the steam chest, the rotary valve, etc.

A steam pipe 56 is connected at one end with one of the ports, as 2% ofthe steam chest 21a, and is extended to and connected at the other endwith the plug I 5m of the steam valve housing it, the pipe being forthis connection threaded into the tapped bore 511 of the plug. Aseparate steam pipe 5! is connected at one end with the opposite port27c of the steam chest, and is extended to and operatively connected atthe other end with any conventional forms of alarm signals, such as thewhistle 52 and the electric light 53, the latter being energized bymeans of a steam operable switch as set in a suitable electricalcircuit.

Constructed as described, and with the several elements of the inventionoperatively arranged and adjusted, the operation is as follows: The coi1spring is within the steam valve chamber 15 will normally raise and holdthe valve HS in open position as shown in Figure 1. ihe valve I I beingnormally closed and the valve l2 open, steam will then flow from thesteam turret Ea through the unobstructed steam lines 9 and M, andthrough the valve chamber or housing IE, to the conventional water pump6, and will operate same for pumping water into the boiler, the waterthen flowing by gravity into the water bottle 21 connected as aforesaidwith the boiler. This flow of water into the boiler and bottle willcontinue until the lower stop Add at the upper end of the guide rod ofthe float t5 strikes the crank arm 44 and pushes same upward. Thisaction rotates the rotary valve d3 until the steam port lt b aligns withthe port Zlb of the steam chest Tia. At this time the opposite port 2T0will remain closed. Steam will then flow through the steam line 53 intothe valve housing or chamber it from the upper end of the water bottle"and the steam chest Fa which is kept supplied from the steam turret 5athrough the pipe 33. Entering the housing l5, the steam will force thepiston ll and the valve l6 downward until the latter seats upon thevalve seat i511, thus stopping the flow of steam to the water pump andstopping the pump. In the process of generating steam in the boiler, thewater levels in the boiler and water bottle may fall until the upperstop 45c. strikes the upper side of the crank arm 45, which actionrotates the valve 43 reversely until the steam port 43c aligns with theport 21c of the steam chest 21a, and which rotation simultaneouslycloses the port 21b and stops the flow of steam through the line 50 tothe housing l5. As the ports 43c, 27c register, steam then flows throughthe line 5! and energizes the alarm signals 52, 53, but of course thiswill not occur until the water reaches a dangerous low point in theboiler, all adjustments being made to that purpose. The alarm signalsdescribed are primarily intended to warn train operators in case theyshould leave the engine for too long a period. In any event, as thewater lowers in the boiler and water bottle, steam trickles out from thehousing l5, through the needle valve I51), and asthe steam line 50remains closed at this time, steam pressure is gradually removed fromthe piston I1. When this pressure has been sufliciently reduced; thespring 19 will raise the valve I B and permit steam again to flowthrough the lines 9 and I4, and through the housing l5 to the pump 3 foroperating the same again for replenishing the boiler. Mil) between thestops "45d, 45c, may be regulated as desired by adjusting the stops asdesired, thus increasing or decreasing the time periods between theoperations of the pump.

While a rotary form of valve is here shown at 43 in the drawings, otherforms of valves might be substituted, and while this valve is here shownas float controlled, other methods of control might be substitutedtherefor. In case of emergency, such as might arise if the describedmechanisms became inoperative for any reason, then resort would be hadto the emergency valves l I, I2, for directing steam to the water pump,the steam then passing through the valve l I opened for the purpose andthrough the lower pipe 9. the other valve l2 being left constantly open.Thus I have provided a relatively simple and practical apparatus forcontrolling the supply of water in a steam boiler, with provision madefor the automatic operation of the water pump in case the water reachesa dangerously low level, and for sounding or energizing alarm signals insuch event, with automatic means for stopping the pump after the boileris replenished with water, and with provision for emergency operation ofthe pump when necessary.

While I have herein shown and described certain preferred embodiments ofthe elements of my invention, and a preferred method of assembling andassociating these elements, variations may be made both in the formationof the elements and the mode of assembling same, within the scope of theclaims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the kind described, for mounting upon a steam boilerhaving a feed Water pump operable through asteam line from the boilerand having alarm signals for indicating low water in the boiler, anelongated Water bottle for vertically and adjustably mounting on theboiler for adjusting vertically to meet varying conditions of the boilerin motion, as on a locomotive, the said mountings including slip-jointconnections at top and bottom ends of the bottle for connecting with asteam pipe at its top end and a Water pipe at its bottom end, a floatguide rod vertically and slidably mounted through the water bottle, afloat fixedly seated on the lower end of the guide rod, a steam chest atthe upper The length of the stem I end of the bottle and communicatingtherewith through its lower side, a rotary valve on a shaft journaledtransversely through the steam chest, said valve being formed with apair of angularly spaced steam ports communicating with the steam chestand leading outward through the periphery of the valve, a crank armrigidly connected at one end with an outer end of the shaft of therotary valve, the free end of the crank arm being extended horizontallyinto the upper end of the water bottle over the upper end of the saidguide rod, said free end of the crank arm being slotted to slidablyengage the upper end of the float guide rod, spaced stops on the guiderod above and below the engaged end of the crank arm for partiallyrotating the rotary valve on the rising or falling of the Water in thewater bottle and consequent movement of the said float, a pair of steampipes extended from the rotary valve with their inner ends arranged toclosely and alternately align with the ports of the valve as the latteris rotated, for operating by one of the pipes and the steam flowingtherethrough from the steam chest the said feed water pump and by theother pipe the said low water alarm signals.

2. In a steam boiler having a feed water pump and line for replenishingthe boiler, said pump being controlled by a valved steam line from thegradually releasing such steam pressure for allowing the pump valve togradually reopen, a water bottle mounted upon the boiler and arrangedfor vertical adjustment thereon to meet varying requirements, saidbottle communicating through its lower end with the boiler forindicating water levels therein and there being a steam line leadingfrom the boiler into the upper end of the bottle, a separate steam lineleading from the upper end of the water bottle to the said pump valvefor closing same as described, and means operable through the raising ofthe water level in the bottle for opening the valved steam line leadingfrom the upper end of the bottle to the pump valve as the water in theboiler and bottle rises, for the purpose of stopping the pump.

3. In a structure according to claim 2, a low water alarm signaloperable through the lowering of the water in the boiler and bottle bymeans of a separate steam line leading from the upper end of the bottleto the signal.

ALBERT G. BLOSS.

